New ventures renewed...

Hello from motherland again :-)

Surprisingly we are all still alive and kicking, if a little scarce. I've thought it through and its time to move onto a new chapter. For those of you who would like to find out what happens next, go here.....

Thats it and there ain't no more (not here anyway).

Luv & stuff
A & Co

Slow but sure...

Hello again, so sorry about the vast swath's of time that pass between posts - when you live your life in increments of 4 time passes very quickly.

We're all doing very well at the moment although the 2am feed persists so the RO and I are both still struggling with the lack of sleep. It looks like it will be around for a while yet while we wait for the smaller twin to catch up to his brother. In the meantime we just snatch naps wherever we can (can anyone suggest exactly how I can do this when I'm looking after the twins during the day?).

If anyone has any suggestions for dealing with reflux, I welcome any practical advice. We have tried Gaviscon sachets, Ranitidine and Motillium and so far they all make matters worse so we're continuing without any meds at all. This does mean that their weight gain isn't as good as it could be so any progress in their sleep routine is slowed.

I really do aim to post more often as soon as I can, in the meantime please know that I am both shocked and ever grateful that so many of you have continued checking in to see if I've posted. Kind of makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside :-)

A

Just a quick hello from mortherland

Hi All! Sorry that I have been so scarce, I can't believe that so many months have passed already.

Things certainly have changed around here since the twins have arrived, hopefully I'll get a chance to write up a full rendition one of these days.

The short version is this; the boys (Thomas and Nathan) were due 31 July but at 27 weeks a scan picked up complications. We were overjoyed when the sonographer found a membrane as it meant that the twins were 'normal'. Unfortunately this also meant that there was the risk of Twin to Twin Transfer Syndrome (TTTS) a rare occurrence where one twin received more blood supply than the other resulting in an imbalance that is dangerous to both twins.

I don't know why were surprised that it happened given our history but it didn't make life much easier. On the up side it did provide a reason for why I felt so rough, I was carrying 2 litres of extra fluid at one point (this was removed through an amnio). Anyway, things were a bit rough and I had to be scanned every second day but the wonderful consultant managed to get us to 32 weeks which was a miracle in itself! The boys were delivered by c-section on 6 June (yip that's 060606 for those paying attention).

We were lucky really as we had plenty of time to adjust to the idea that they would be delivered really early. It also meant that I was able to received steroid injections to improve their lungs so when the boys were born only Thomas needed oxygen and only for a short while.

All in all they spent 3 weeks in the neo-natal unit, suffering only from jaundice. We were definitely fortunate again as they didn't suffer any infections or require any transfusions which meant that they were able to come home much earlier than anyone thought possible.

We have all been home for about 8 weeks now and life has taken on a surreal tint as we struggle with lack of sleep and the several weeks of the '1 week old newborn stage'. Both boys have done very well all things considered. We have issues with reflux that we're trying to find solutions to but we're working on it and will probably be asking advice about it pretty soon.

In the meantime, sorry that its taken me so long and thank-you for all the best wishes. I'll update with the whole story as soon as I can.

Love
A

Just past halfway!

So we have made to 20 weeks, isn't that fabulous :-)

I'm especially happy because it means that I only have about 4 months to go and I can't wait. Not only am I already fed up with being pregnant but I'm pretty anxious to meet my new sons too.

We had our anatomy scan and first consultant appointment early last week and heverything looks fine. There were traces of protein and glucose in my urine but they've said not to worry about this until it has happened for 2 or more consecutive weeks. Hopefully it was just the sugary cereal that I had eaten for breakfast :-)

On the home front, my younger sister has finally moved over to the UK and is now safely ensconced in our guest bedroom. Life has been relatively busy since she arrived as we get her settled into her new life, but its lovely to have some family over (even if we still get on one anothers nerves occasionally).

I know that I have been terribly remiss in not updating more often and I am truly sorry about that, for slightly more regular updates, be sure to visit the RO as he is much better at it than I am. I am still keeping up with reading all of you though even if it seems as if I've fallen off the planet.

Take care of you and yours

Onwards and upwards

Isn't it amazing how quickly time passes? I can't believe that my last post was so long ago, sorry 'bout that, terribly rude of me :-)

Not much has happened since we last spoke, the nausea has receeded a bit more, it only really bugs me first thing in the morning and briefly in the evening. This trimester is definately easier, if not enjoyable.

I guess I'm just not one of those people who enjoys being pregnant. I know that sounds terrible and I'm probably breaking some unwritten code but I can't believe that I'm the only woman to ever feel that way. Sure I marvel at the wonder of our growing children and I think its all rather remarkeable, but I also find it very uncomfortable and rather all consuming.

There are woman out there who love every single second of pregnancy and I envy them that because 9 months is a loooong time if you're not altogether chirpy. Fortunately we are now more or less half way through (for a twin pregnancy) at 18weeks, so I can at least see that the end is in sight.

We have our big anatomy scan on the 6th March and we finally get to meet our consultant then to so that'll be a big deal. Between now and then however we still have to spend 2 days in Birmingham delivering training (we spent 2 days last week in London doing the same) so that is the first milestone. Hopefully this will mean that the week passes quickly :-)

Trust me, with every day that passes I become less nervous about the prospect of the twins arriving, because I will be very happy when I can have my usual, energetic, healthy-feeling self back (of course this in itself is wishful thinking what with 2 new borns, but its my dream ok :-)).

Happy Saturday to all of you!

VP

A sigh of relief

Some of you may have read the RO 's latest post which covers everything that I am about to mention but if you haven't, we have had a moment of relief. We went to have a scan yesterday and the consultant managed to find a membrane. This is great news because it means that we have 'normal' identical twins although we will now have to make sure that we keep checking for Twin-to-Twin transfusion (I think thats what its called). Although this is more common and if left unchecked potentially fatal, it is also easier to spot so we're a lot more comfortable with this option.

The second bit of news was that we managed to see their little bits - it turns out that despite both of us being completely convinced that we were having girls, we were wrong and we're to be the proud parents of 2 little boys. I must say now that I have got used to the idea - I'm almost relieved, especially when I remember what a horror I was as a teenager :-)

Thanks to ALL of you for your kind words, it does make me feel all warm and fuzzy when I get a comment, especially when I know that I haven't been the best blogger in the world and I probably don't deserve such niceties!

Hugs to all of you - and I leave you with my tummy a week later :-)





















(16w4d - and sorry about the blurry nature of the pic, we didn't use the flash and I'm to lazy to do it again :-))

VP

Hopefully we've turned a corner :-)

(I wrote this post a week ago and for some weird reason it didn't post, so here it is and I promise a more up to date one in the next day or so!)

Hello faithful readers! If any of you have stuck with me, despite the scarce posts I thank-you from the bottom of my heart.

15 weeks on now and the nausea seems to be given me a bit of a break at last! Unfortunately that was replaced by some intense tooth ache over the last couple of weeks (who'd have thought that pregnancy can have such weird effects?).

The toothache got really bad on Sunday so I was back at the dentist yesterday for some emergency root canal treatment, ouch! Now that the anaesthetic has completely worn off, my mouth is pretty sore but I'm hoping that this will get better over the course of today so that things can get back to normal tomorrow.

I did have my community midwife appointment last week and the midwife commented on how large my tummy is already. She recons that she'd have known it was twins even if we hadn't had the scan yet as I am around 4 weeks ahead of a singleton.





















What do you think? (Picture taken last night).

VP